F soc usic lecture three

Effective from September 2015 | F_Soc USIC Sociology week 3 - Society

LECTURE THREE


1. Review from Lecture Two2. History of Sociology 3. Key Sociological Thinkers4. Social Theories5. Homework


Review of Lecture Two Last week we discussed the definition of sociology and how it relates to

the societies, social institutions and the people within those societies and social institutions.

We also discussed what it means to develop sociological thinking or a sociological imagination. More importantly we talked about how things that may seem trivial like coffee can be highly influential to people and societies across the globe.

We highlighted the importance of being able to set aside our pre-set ideas about the world and be open to viewing things, like coffee or culture, music, languages, etc. without glasses that are tainted by our own experiences and beliefs.

sheffield.ac.uk/international-college 3


Historical Events as a Catalyst for the Study of Society

During the Medieval Period in Europe (5th-15th centuries) the Catholic Church was a major role player in social and political affairs.

Religious beliefs ( e.g perceptions of heaven and hell) were used as strong bases for social control.



The Church’s power

The Catholic Church not only controlled people’s beliefs

but their working lives as well

Peasants paid 10% of their earnings to the Church

known as ‘tithe’. Payment was either in money or

goods e.g seeds, harvested grains, animals, etc.



Church’s Wealth• Church became wealthy from the tithes of the working poor.

• Fear prevented the peasants from refusing to pay tithes

• Along with paying tithes peasants also paid for:

• Baptisms

• Marriages

• Burials


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Sociology and the Revolution

The history of sociological thinking resulted from two

revolutionary transformations

•The Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and 19th centuries

transformed material conditions of life and ways of making a

living.



French Revolution

• The second revolution was the French Revolution of 1789, marked the

end of the old European agrarian organisations and the monarchy’s

control towards ideals of freedom, liberty and citizenship rights.

• This revolution was believed to be the starting point of scientific thinking –

a move away from the control of the church and religious indoctrination.

• Enlightenment thinkers believed that scientific knowledge could help

society move passed it superstitious, faith-based past.



Cultural Change to Political Change• Accompanying the cultural challenges provided by the French

Revolution came a strong political challenge to the monarchy and aristocracy that ruled one of the most powerful nations in the world.

• This time in history was known as the Enlightenment Period where philosophers viewed advancement of reliable knowledge in the natural sciences (e.g. astronomy, physics and chemistry) as a path to the way forward.

• The English physicist Sir Isaac Newton was singled out as an exemplary scientist whose ideas of Natural law and scientific method appealed to Enlightenment scholars.

• Enlightenment argument: in principle it should be possible to discover similar laws, using similar methods, in social and political life.


Effective from September 2015 | F_Soc USIC Sociology week 3 - Society Effective from September 2015 | FY10 Sociology week 2 - Society

Sociological ThinkersPrompted by both revolutions, Auguste Comte (1798-1857) a French philosopher and mathematician) developed the science of society or what he termed sociology, believing it to be a science as equally important as the natural sciences.

Comte raised the question of how social order was created and maintained, arguing the case for applying a scientific method (positivism) through which laws of social development or sociology could be discovered.



The Law of Three Stages:


Comte argued that all human societies pass through three stages:

1.Theological: where order was based on religious beliefs and controls

2.Metaphysical: a transition phase characterized by upheaval and disorder, where the old religious order was challenged by the emergence of science

3.Positive: where science and reason revealed the nature of the social world and replaced religion as the basis of social order


Comte’s Positivist Philosophy


According to Comte the main task of sociology was to gain knowledge of the social world in order to make predictions, to intervene and shape social life in progressive ways.•Inspired by the achievements of the natural sciences•Sociology was the last science to develop, but also the most complex

Comte believed that through the production of a moral agreement, through the development of a new religion of humanity, societies would hold together despite the many inequalities

While his vision never came about, his contribution to the development of a science of sociology was significant to later sociological thinkers.


Key Sociological ThinkersEmile Durkheim (1857-1917)A French sociologist inspired by Comte but had a more lasting impact on sociologyViewed sociology as a new science that turned traditional philosophical questions into sociological ones, requiring real-world research studiesDurkheim argued that we must study social life with the same objectivity as scientists do when studying the natural world Sociology should study ‘Social Facts’ i.e all structures or rules that limit or control human behaviour



Durkheim’s study of suicide rates used the concept of social facts to explain why some countries have higher rates of suicide than others.•He believed that suicide was not an individual act resulting solely from extreme unhappiness but influenced by many social facts like religion, marriage and divorce and social class. •He was particularly concerned with learning about what factors bind societies together.•Highlights the significance of shared values and beliefs in keeping societies unified. •Anomie: rapid change in values and beliefs, without replacement that leads to feelings of aimlessness, desperation and loss in the meaning of life.

Pic of Durkheim



Key Sociological Thinkers• Karl Marx (1818-1883)Karl Marx was a German sociologist whose ideas contrasted sharply

with those of Comte and Durkheim.• Primary focus was on the development of capitalism • Capitalism is a system of production that contrasts radically with all

previous economic systems• He viewed society as divided into two classes: wealthy ruling class

and waged workers• He argued that capitalism is a class system in which relations

between the two main classes are characterised by conflict• The ruling class and workers are dependent on each other, this

dependency is unbalanced where the workers are more depended on the ruling class because the ruling class controlled all the wealth.



Key Sociological ThinkersMax Weber (1864-1920)

Weber was a German academic who focused less on class conflict and more on the significance of ideas and values as a means of creating social change.•He believed that sociologists should focus on social action – the subjectively meaningful action of people that are oriented towards other people.•He believed that the emergence of modern society was accompanied by important shifts in patterns of social action.•Weber viewed a shift away from superstition, religion, customs and longstanding habits towards rational, instrumental calculations that took into account efficiency and consideration for future consequences of one’s actions.



• The emergence of science and modern technology and bureaucracies was described by Weber as rationalization.

• Rationalization is the organisation of life according to principles of self efficacy and on the basis of technological or scientific knowledge.

Sociological Thinking in the Industrialized World



Conclusion I: Sociological thinking emerged from the effects of two European Revolutions:

1. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries2.The French Revolution of 1789

As a result of the revolutions sociological thinkers that questioned superstition and conformity, began to develop their own ideas based on facts and not faith, resulting in the Enlightenment Period.The Enlightenment Period was a time in history where scholars in philosophy and sociology viewed the advancement of reliable knowledge in the natural sciences as a path forward.



Conclusion II: Sociological thinkers such as Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx and Max Weber began to pave the way towards a more scientific method of conducting sociological research.

While each focused on slightly different perspectives they all contributed significantly towards the study of social sciences.

Next week we will begin discussing how and why we study societies scientifically as well as how the sociological perspectives of these early key sociological thinkers have developed into three broad methods for conducting social research.



Review lecture and prepare questions for seminar one

Read Gidden’s chapter 3, pp 67- 84 available on MOLE, take this article with you to seminars one and two this week.

Homework


F soc usic lecture three

Education

Transcript of F soc usic lecture three